Have you got the baking bug?
To celebrate the return of the nation’s favourite innuendo-filled show, I have a little baking give away for you.
But first, what do you think of the new series so far? Are you pining for Mary, Mel and Sue or have you fallen for Prue, Sandi and Noel?
I loved Bake Off when it started; it was so new and different and gave some great bakers a platform. I’ve been lucky enough to cook with a couple of the local stars too.
Last year I did a show stopper workshop with John Whaite at his sexy as anything cookery school near me. John is such an amazing baker, and he is a hoot too. He’s been kind enough to let me host two cake clubs there, and I am saving up to do a course, hopefully early next year as I would love to get some more of his knowledge.

Obligatory selfie!
The year before that, I also had a great workshop with contestant Luis Troyano, another local lad (Stockport) who took the fear out of pastry in a fun workshop at the Coop HQ. Involving booze and Nutella, it was a perfect tart!
However, I have thought for the last couple of series that maybe they need to change things a bit to keep it fresh. It feels a bit samey at times. For example, for the love of god, put a blast chiller in! In no way is cooking against the clock anything like cooking at home, so I find it a bit mean that they don’t help with stress by having a blast chiller.
Also I wonder if it is time to add new challenges. I know that many people hate change, but if this wonderfully British institution is going to keep going it needs to keep reinventing itself. But even saying all of that, I love, love, love to bake so will always watch when I am in! What do you think?
Win Opies baking goodies
There is loads of new foodie telly at the moment. If it has you dusting off your mixing bowl and fretting about soggy bottoms, then this give away is for you! Opie’s Foods create top quality ingredients that will take your baking to the next level. Our baking box includes:
- Cherries in kirsch – ideal for my addictive cherry bakewell brownies
- Cocktail cherries – great for garnish and cupcakes
- Stem ginger – the key ingredient in these honey ginger palmiers
- Crystallised ginger – perfect in these fiery ginger cookies
- Summer fruit compote – use it in these no bake desert pots if cake isn’t your thing
Super easy to enter – just complete the Rafflecopter below. Entries close on the 31st October at midnight and the winner will be notified via email.
Good luck, and happy baking!

Pin for the win!
chocolate chip nutella stuffed cookies
Good gracious can I have some please Sam?!
As plain as it sounds, my banana bread is fantastic! Lemon zest and greek yogurt through and through!
Can’t beat banana bread. I make mine with cardamom
Oh I love Opies but the cocktail cherries are my favourite. Yum yum
For cocktail hour Yes?!
I’m a bit of a mean baker so its hard to pick. My other half would probably vote for my creme brulee cheesecake
Mmm that sounds good. I’m voting with your other half!
My signature dish would probably my cupcakes the Black Forest cupcakes always go down well
I love black forest Donba – I make a good black forest brownie. The cherries in kirsch would be perfect for you!
Gingerbread men
My date and walnut is pretty awesome!
Nice prize!
I make an amazing apple and cinnamon sponge cake that’s perfect with vanilla custard
I tend to be more of a traybake kind of gal, they always get eaten.
I make some nice cupcakes x
I make lemon butterfly cakes with lemon curd inside, underneath the buttercream, dusted with icing sugar. (Or plain with jam under the buttercream)
I love old school butterfly cakes – makes me feel 8 again!
Cherry Bakewell tart and would be super with some of these cherries ,cheers for super chance
Everybody likes my rhubarb pies x
my maltesers cupcakes
whiskey and walnut cakes
Love to win
My chocolate stout cake is always requested by my friends
Yum!
No, I wish I could bake better.
Well Claire these ingredients would be a great start!
I have a really good recipe for Christmas Cake and everyone likes my chocolate and prune pudding.
I love Christmas cake – often make several!
Probably only a rich chocolate cake with chocolate ganache; very simple but decadent enough to produce an “Oooh!” from anyone likely to get their hands on some!
Yes I can see that would make me ooh as well!
Yes, I make a lovely Bakewell tart.
Love bakewell!
my husband backs ridiculously good butterfly cakes, so nice our childrens schools all have him baking cakes everytime they have a sale
not very ambitious but the closest I get is a tasty banana cake
Banana and walnut cake
It doesn’t come looking like a show stopper, however my lemon drizzle cake is renowned for it being a show/eat stopper
Taste matters most carol!
Chocolate fudge cake is my showstopper
Raspberry bakewell sandwich is my best bake
Love it!
My husband has recently been making a chocolate beetroot cake which requires no flour and using beetroot we have grown. Rather delicious
I make a wicked Victoria sponge!
Classic Victoria Sponge! Always goes down a treat with the hubby and kids
Classics are the best.
ha no im not that good at baking
i wouldnt say i have a show stopper but my other half loves my coffee cake 🙂
I make a lovely cherry and almond cake.
nope, i try my best but it always goes wrong so i cover my wonky cake in chocolate and call it a hedgehog cake lol x
Baked white chocolate cheesecake served with raspberry coulis.
My chocolate cakes are fabulous. However, whilst I am good at baking lovely cakes, my decorating skills aren’t that hot!
Me too Carolyn. I can’t decorate for toffee!
Lemon drizzle my whole family love it
Not really I am not very good so a lemon drizzle is about as good as I get.
I make amazing honey cake!
Ooh I’ve never made that – honey cake sounds delish!
My chocolate Pavlova usually goes down pretty well 🙂
I think that would have to be my carrot cake
Victoria Sandwich with Caramel Butter Cream and Damson Jam
I’ve not had damsons this year 🙁 Sounds delicious though
Chewy Chocolate Brownies
Kirsteen – I LOVE brownies. Just made some tonight!
I love making carrot cake with a cream cheese topping 🙂 Always goes down well!
my cupcakes always go down a treat
I love a fruity bake
I think it would have to be fruit cake, especially the christmas cake
I love Christmas cake. Not sure I’m able to make mind this year but I like them boozy!
I don’t yet but i am working on it.
Double chocolate chip cookies – well I think they are Showstopping anyway 😉
The best apple crumble ever
Love crumble at this time of year. Top tip – add speculaas spice!
My double CHOCOLATE fudge cake is ALWAYS a winner
Ooh Margaret I can understand why!
My red velvet cupcakes get a lot of compliments.
My sticky gingerbread loaf never hangs around!
Everyone seems to love my chocolate cake. Thanks for this lovely giveaway.
My coconut fudgey chocolate brownies! 🙂
My hubby loves coconut and brownies- I never thought to combine the two!
I certainly don’t have a showstopper bake. But the hubby and kids don’t mind eating what I make
I think my Strawberry Mouselline gateau is my showstopper.
Ooh fancy, sounds fab Meryl!
love to bake a coffee and walnut cake with royal icing
My show stopper would be scones, I always try to add something extra and experiment with flavours to jazz them up.
I had them with salted caramel recently instead of cream- bliss!
My marble cake goes down well
This blog is awesome!
Thanks Emma 🙂 😉
Not really, I enjoy barking but im still learning!
not a showstopper to look at, but my coffee cake is the most requested and never lasts very long in this house, that’ll do for me 🙂
Tasty = show stopping in my books! x
my hubby loves my bakewell tart x
My favourite is an orange curd meringue roulade with passionfruit and raspberries. Yum !
Oof Maggie that sounds amazing!
Not in looks but my apple and cinnamon bread is heavenly!
my showstopper is a proper raised pork pie
Jane Willis recently posted…Include an Animal at Ooh La La Creations
How fab. I love proper pork pies
Huge meringue cake
I wouldn’t call it a showstopper but for years I have baked banana cake with whipped chocolate icing and it always disappears very very quickly.
my husband is more of the baker in my household! he makes fantastic yummy cakes.
I love baking but I can not bake very well.
No, last time I baked anything even the dog turned his nose up at it
Not really, but I’d love one!
Walnut and coffee cake
I like baking Cherry and Almond cake.
My family really enjoy my chocolate cake
Christmas tree chocolate cookies, decorated with Smartie `baubles`
lemon drizzle cake
Unfortunately not
My salted caramel Rolo cheesecake always goes down well in our house. Fab giveaway would love to be your lucky winner
There’s not a word in that description that doesn’t sound amazing!
my coffee cake and chocolate cakes always go down well
We’ll novice bakers but our most recent good bake is our malteser chocolate finger choccy cake
I don’t know if you’d call it a showstopper but my chocolate Italian salami always goes down a treat
No I don’t have a show stopper bake, but I wish I did!
I’m undecided about the Bake Off – it’s working a lot better than I thought it would, but…
I agree Victoria. I think the new presenters / judge are fine but it was ready for a bit of an update. I think being the first year on C4 they wouldn’t change anything, but am hoping that next year will have some fresh ideas. I have missed a few this year and not felt bad about it!
I have a few showstoppers. I think my favourite is orange, rhubarb and almond cake. Yum.
Rich Fruit Scones
My carrot cake with cream cheese frosting always goes down a treat!
Walnut and halva cake
My husband loves Victoria Sandwich, the real proper, classic one, and he loves it when I make a really large one for special occasions, using my homemade raspberry jam. It isn’t a showstopper, but i am not so good at the whole gussying-up thing, I just make good cakes!
I’m with you. I can’t gussy up, it’s all about flavour!
I do a black forest Christmas yule log that is out of this world.
Wow I’d love to try!
Caramac cheesecake! It’s delicious and I make it far too often!
There’s a cafe in Wigan that does OTT cheesecake like that!
Millionaire shortbread with gooey caramel.
Mmm yes please!
Banana bread or butterfly cakes,can bake average at those
My Welsh bara brith is infamous !
Love bars brith – not had it in ages!
It would have to be my carrot cake!
Carrot cake
Cauliflower chocolate cake
What?!
I bake a mean birthday cake and a good miranugue
chocolate chip nutella stuffed cookies yumm
Tammy feel free to send me some
Not really a show stopper but I do make a mean chocolate cake
Devils food cake, I always get asked to make it
I make a good Mint Chocolate Log at Christmas as a show stopper. been doing it a few years now. chocolate log with after eights mints and green icing.
christmas cake
I think my show stopper is my Mint Choc Chip Layer Cake! It always goes down very well!
Bakewell Tart with fresh raspberries
My Apple crumble always seems to go down quite well
No showstopper bake
Bakewell tart 🙂
Victoria sponge cover in chocolate
My chocolate fudge cake always goes down well
A chocolate & Orange ‘Owl’ celebration cake i made for my Daughter’s birthday was worth a twitt twoo for sure! 🙂 x
I’m not a very good baker but love making Lemon Drizzle Cake 🙂
Well apparently it’s my Chocolate Avocado cake – which no-one wanted to taste until called it something else and they love it. Also my almond and raspberry cruffins – which is a cross between a muffin and a croissant (not that “show-stopping” though). 😀
Ooh your baking sounds ace Tracy. I’m too scared to try cruffins – well jel!
Ha- cunning!
My apple and rhubarb crumble is my ‘go to’ bake.
my chocolate cake
Chocolate brownies
As a really busy person I go for the quick easy option as there’s never enough time to spend on baking a showstopper, no sooner than I have filled the cake box its empty so I must be doing something right!
Maaaaaaan wish I had a cake box. Actually probably best for my ass I didn’t.